Today, the Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, a Bishop who lived in the second century A.D (died about 202). Saint Irenaeus was probably from Smyrna, a city in Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey. He was a priest of the Church of Lyon (France) but was actually in Rome while many of his brother priests were imprisoned under the persecution of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180). Following the death of Saint Ponthinus, the first Bishop of Lyon, it was Irenaeus who was chosen to succeed him.
As a Bishop, he spent much of his energy combatting Gnosticism (the belief that the material world was created by an act of God by which a divine spark was trapped within the human body). To counter the doctrines of the Gnostics, it was Irenaeus who proposed three pillars for the orthodoxy of the Church: Sacred Scripture, the Tradition that has been handed down from the Apostles, and the teachings of the Successors of the Apostles.
The second Book of Kings describes the brief reign of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, who ultimately surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon (2 Kings 24:8-17). God's people have known both times of suffering and times of prosperity. Thanks to the persistence of heroes of faith like Irenaeus, the Church continues its reliance on three sources which maintain our orthodoxy. Be proud of your faith today and ask Saint Irenaeus to help you to be firm in your convictions.
Have a great day.
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